Dunkerley attended Old Trafford School and Victoria University in Manchester. As a businessman, he lived in France for a time, but upon returning to England he took up writing full time. He was an expert mountain climber, and served as deacon and teacher at the Euling Congregational Church in London. Among his more than 40 novels and books of verse are:

God’s Prisoner, 1898

The Coil of Carne (New York: John Lane Company, 1911)

Bees in Amber, 1913

The King’s High-Way, 1916

The Vision Splendid, 1917

The Wonder of Lourdes; What It Is and What It Means (London: Longmans, Green and Company, 1924)